In a March 2018 photo, Mary Serano sits on her cot in an emergency shelter at the Greater Missionary Baptist Church on Norris Avenue in Pacoima. An Economic Roundtable study found that help finding a job as well as medical care are also important in keeping people from becoming and staying chronically homeless. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Housing alone will not solve Los Angeles County’s homelessness problem, and a more strategic effort at early intervention is needed to prevent people from becoming homeless or staying homeless, according to an analysis done by the Economic Roundtable.

The Roundtable released a report that looks at 26 sets of data to better understand the characteristics of the homeless population and their needs, with the goal of finding the best way to help people out of homelessness and prevent them from becoming chronically homeless.

Researchers found that alongside housing programs, job-training and employment programs geared to those who recently fell into homelessness or are on the cusp are also needed to help reduce the homeless population.

The report states that nearly half, or 48 percent of homeless individuals, are homeless for a month or less, so efforts should be focused on this group of people to make a bigger dent on the number of people who later become chronically homeless.

Out of those who become homeless, about 2,600 to 5,600 people per year are estimated to become chronically homeless.

The county defines a chronically homeless individual as as someone who has been homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness over the last three years that add up to one or more years. And that person also must also have a “disabling condition.”

“Los Angeles County’s current population of chronically homeless individuals is the cumulative outcome of many years of slow attrition into persistent homelessness,” the report said.

“There’s a strong motivation early on to get a job and enter the labor force,” said Economic Roundtable President Dan Flaming. “There is still a strong sense of being productive, a strong sense of self-worth and a connection with a mainstream identity.”

In a March 2018 photo, people get on a shuttle at the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission Help Center in Van Nuys. The shuttle takes people in need to an emergency shelter in Pacoima. (File photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Flaming said it is easier to “stabilize” individuals before they develop health, mental health and substance abuse problems.

“Our focus is early intervention with higher risk individuals, particularly through employment interventions,” he said.

Flaming said that another striking finding in the report is that there are an estimated 600,000 people in Los Angeles County who are living in poverty and are paying 90 percent of their paycheck toward rent.

While 90 percent of this group is able to avoid homelessness, the remaining people are unable to hold onto their housing. Helping 1 percent of those who are likely to fall through the cracks and become homeless can potentially “reduce the amount of people who are homeless by about 10 percent,” Flaming said.

The data referenced in the report indicates that 40 percent of individuals who are homeless said it was because of a lack of employment. That is a higher percentage than for other reasons, such as the 19 percent who said it was due to conflicts with family and housemates, the 17 percent who pointed to drug and alcohol abuse and the 13 percent with mental health issues.

The report also found that more than 25 percent of people became homeless when they were between 18 and 24 years old. Young people, including those with children, expressed a high interest in becoming employed.

The report’s authors made a dozen recommendations, including designing a screening process aimed at immediately providing services to people who are at risk of becoming chronically homeless, and people who are at risk of being homeless.

On the morning of April 16, 2018, the day that LA Mayor Eric Garcetti presented his State of the City address, homeless individuals begin waking up along Main Street at adjacent to Los Angeles City Hall. (Fiile photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Other recommendations include helping homeless individuals hold onto their cars through programs that give people locations to park legally, access to hygiene facilities and financial assistance for vehicle registration and maintenance.

The report also recommends assisting homeless families with programs focusing on jobs and health care to prevent homelessness from becoming a multi-generational problem.

Another recommendation is to avoid arresting or jailing homeless individuals and instead diverting them to treatment and housing, since being arrested, navigating the court system and spending time behind bars can further lead someone into chronic homelessness.

And finally, the recommendations call for better access to job training and educational opportunities, as well as targeting jobs-related programs to people who are newly homeless, especially young adults and parents. Such programs could include job placement, housing, child care and practical forms of help such as providing cell phones, bus passes and clothing appropriate for job interviews.

Elizabeth Chou has reported on Los Angeles City Hall government and politics since 2013, first with City News Service, and now the Los Angeles Daily News since the end of 2016. She grew up in the Los Angeles area, and formerly a San Gabriel Valley girl. She now resides in the other Valley, and is enjoying exploring her new San Fernando environs. She previously worked at Eastern Group Publications, covering Montebello, Monterey Park, City of Commerce, and Vernon.